Recently, James Tynion IV announcedCognetic, a new three issue limited series to be published by BOOM Studios. Described as the spiritual successor to last year’s breakout hit Memetic and the second in a trilogy of post-apocalyptic stories, Tynion describes Cognetic as a “psychic Die Hard.” The plot is kicked off by a being that takes control of the minds of everyone in the Empire State Building, coalescing their minds into one universal hive (which, not-so-coincidentally, parallels the ending of Memetic). The world has to fight to save its individuality or be subsumed into bland one-ness.

Tynion describes his work on Cognetic and Memetic as mediation on the fragility of control:

I just really think that’s frightening. There’s a sense of that in a lot of my work, the idea of what happens when you try to take too much control, when you try to control every aspect of a situation in the way that you might want to, and the way that reality tries to take that aspect of control away from you.

So the comfort of having total control over everything is a deep, comforting feeling. But it’s also something that is deeply dangerous, and it’s dangerous to the people who actually try to wield that power, and it’s very dangerous for the people that power is wielded over. Like, what happens when you just become a pawn, or just a little bacteria in the stomach of this larger being? It’s a concept that really unsettles me, and I want to poke at it, and make other people unsettled by it.

So if Memetic is about the body and Cognetic is about the mind, perhaps the last of the trilogy will focus on a crisis of the soul.

Alex is the Managing Editor of the Comics Beat. He is also a freelance comics editor with previous credits at Papercutz. He is your go-to fella for creator interviews, conversations about comic book structure, and general DC Comics nerding. Currently geeking out over movies, too.

This is being written on the day that initial orders are due for my store, and with the three week vacation I took, I’m a little behind the eight ball. Should I be writing articles for the internet? Probably not, but nothing says “Important Work Needs To Get Done” quite like doing something else entirely.

Welcome to Go FOC Yourself, a weekly column at The Beat that will serve as a catch all for interesting books coming that are on Final Order Cut-Off (FOC) and other miscellania that doesn’t quite merit a full retail column. Most weeks, there will be one or two bigger features and then a jumble of topics. Sometimes it will just be a jumble. This week will be especially rough because I don’t know what this column will eventually become.

The weekly rush, it never stops. Let’s go.

ALL NEW DEATHSTROKE

Some kind of Deadpool rip off or something, I guess.

So here’s the thing about this new Deathstroke book: I genuinely think there has never been a better time for DC to try and make this book happen. The character is coming off of a high profile turn as the big bad on the latest season of Arrow where he was watched by millions. The DVDs are out. The episodes will eventually hit Netflix. They’d be stupid to not test the waters with a new series. The problem? They are testing those waters poorly.

Take a look at the solicitation information for the first issue:

The DCU’s deadliest assassin stars in his own ongoing series by writer/artist Tony S. Daniel! See him as never before in this explosive new series, with one surprise after another as we see Slade Wilson in the fight of his life!

Two sentences that tell you nothing more than “a Deathstroke comic by Tony S. Daniel is happening”. They honestly could have just written that and achieved the same results.

If DC wants me to spend a decent amount of money ordering copies of this book, they have to give me more. As it stands, it seems like yet another book where the house style is Serious Business with a side of limb rending, only this time the main character is a villain. What makes this book different than the recently launched All New Suicide Squad? Better yet, what makes it different than the previous series that was recently cancelled? Without anything to latch onto, I won’t be making a confident order.

ON THE OTHER HAND

It’s not on final order cut off this week – in fact, it will be in stores this Wednesday – but I wanted to share an example of a great solicitation DC sent out just to prove they can sell a book. This comes from Gotham Academy #1:

WELCOME TO GOTHAM ACADEMY! Gotham City’s most prestigious prep school is a very weird place. It’s got a spooky campus, oddball teachers, and rich benefactors always dropping by…like that weirdo Bruce Wayne. But nothing is as strange is the students!

Like, what’s up with Olive Silverlock? Is she crazy or what? Where did she go last summer? And what’s the deal with her creepy mom? And how come that Freshman MAPS is always following her around? And is she still going out with Kyle? P.S. Did you hear the rumor about the ghost in the North Hall?!

GOTHAM ACADEMY is a new, monthly teen drama set in the shadow of Batman and the craziness of Gotham City, with new characters and old plus a secret tie to Gotham’s past…

Even excluding the second paragraph, this solicitation is vibrant. It gives you the concept, and gives you just enough information to get the hooks in. Beyond this, the creative team has been hustling to get the word out about this series, and has created quite a buzz for the book. It, alongside the sell-and-hustle that’s happening with Batgirl shows that the company – or at least the creators and editors behind the Bat-books – can drum up interest in books with completely new characters, as well as books with new takes on older concepts. This, in stark contrast to the no-sell of Deathstroke and Klarion.

As it stands, my orders for all four titles definitely reflect upon the strength of the solicits, with Gotham Academy and Batgirl clocking orders that are roughly fives times as large as the orders I placed for Deathstroke and Klarion. Here’s hoping other retailers have done the same so we can start pointing DC in the direction of fresh sellable concepts.

PREMIUM KUSH COMICS

Joooookes.

DC announced the smells that will be a part of the “rub and smell” Harley Quinn Annual, one of which will apparently cause problems at the border. From their e-mail to retailers:

The rub and smell scents featured in HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1 were chosen in an effort to capture the world in which Harley lives. This ‘scenticular’ book was created in the spirit of innovation and fun that DC Entertainment brings to our fans every day.

There will be two editions of HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1 available to retailers, and each edition will have a BOMBSHELLS variant. All copies will by poly-bagged.

UPDATE: Retailers, please note that the rub and smell feature will only be included in the first printings of this title.

The first edition and variant, available for purchase only in the domestic United States, includes smells similar to leather, suntan lotion, pizza and whats referred to in the story as cannabisylocibe 7-A.

DC Entertainment is creating a second edition and variant to be available for purchase in all territories. These alternate versions of the issue will feature smells similar to leather, suntan lotion, pizza and fresh-cut lawn clippings. This edition will feature differently colored versions of the cover art. Please note that all current orders under item codes AUG140294 and AUG140295 will be applied to the new international editions. You may continue to adjust your orders through the Final Order Cutoff date of September 29.

Yeah. “Cannabisylocibe 7-A”. Which I’m sure is going to stop folks from asking their local comic shop if they have the Harley Quinn comic that smells like weed. Just gonna add that to the long list of reasons my family doesn’t think I have a real job.

DEADLINES, ISSUES & DEADLINE ISSUES

Frank Cho provides the art to Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, which is probably why it’s two months late. It’s a shame, because having a book that said something resembling GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 on the shelves for August would have been great. As it stands, I’m lowering my orders on this, because I know I won’t be able to hand-sell it as well as I could have then.

For the record, this is also why I chuckled and shook my head when Cho announced two new creator owned projects at the Baltimore con a few weeks back. The dude can’t do deadlines when he has an editor pushing him, let alone when he’s left to his own devices. Remember Zombie King? That’s a book that famously began with a zombie having sex with a cow and got a lot of deservedly strange buzz right out the door. Only one issue shipped. And how about Guns and Dinos? The first issue was solicited from Image for the end of 2011. Nothing has shipped. I love the guy’s work, but the guy just can’t get the work done, and it will definitely colour the numbers I send in for any and all of his future projects.

FOC PICK OF THE WEEK // MEMETIC #1 (BOOM! STUDIOS)

I made the mistake of reading the retailer preview copy of Memetic before going to bed this past Wednesday. While most folks have more of a stomach for scary stuff, I generally don’t do to well, and this book terrified the hell out of me. James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan build a story that’s half Dramatic Look Gopher and half The Ring, and use a larger page count to let things simmer before bringing things to a boil. If you’re in the mood for something a little fun and incredibly disturbing, and don’t mind cringing every time someone tries to show you a new cute video, definitely check this book out. I’m upping my orders to make sure certain customers won’t miss out.

TO BE CONTINUED…

And with that, the first column mercifully limps to a close. I’m still feeling things out, and willing to take comments and suggestions. Want to hear more about certain aspects of ordering? Do you want more micro-reviews of upcoming product? Want me to shut up about certain things altogether? Please comment below. I want this column to become a nice resource for the industry to scour, from readers looking for insight into the process of retail (or upcoming books) all the way to creators and editors and publishers and other retailers. That’s a pretty lofty goal for someone as talentless as myself, but we all have to have dreams.

Until next week…

[Brandon Schatz has been working behind the comic book counter for eight years. He’s spent the past four as the manager of Wizard’s Comics and Collectibles in Edmonton, Alberta. In his spare time, he writes about the comics he likes over at Comics! The Blog. You can find him on twitter @soupytoasterson. The opinions expressed are those of Schatz and do not necessarily reflect those of The Beat.]

Brandon Schatz and Danica LeBlanc are the owners of Variant Edition Comics + Culture located in Edmonton, Alberta. They specialize in matching people with the comics and books they never knew they wanted. In their spare time, they write articles and produce podcasts at Submetropolitan.com